Is a Cade York problem brewing for the Browns?

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was a long evening of waiting for Cade York.

With the Browns starters on offense only playing a series, Cleveland wasn’t exactly moving the ball down the field for most of their second preseason game against the Washington Commanders. Their only points through two quarters came on a safety as they trailed 14-2 in the third quarter.

So, the second-year Browns kicker had to wait until after halftime, the 8:45 mark in the third quarter, before Cleveland tried for a field goal.

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York had a chance to inspire some confidence as he trotted out for a 46-yard attempt. He went through his usual routine, made contact and … the kick, which never looked on line after watching a replay, sailed wide right.

No good.

It may very well be a key crossroads for the Browns and York, who is in his second straight offseason without any competition.

But it’s about more than one kick.

Last week, it was a similar miss for York in the Browns’ 21-16 win over the Jets in the Hall of Fame Game, when a 49-yard attempt sailed wide right. He did make all three extra-points in that game, like the extra-point he made toward the end of the third quarter for the Browns on Friday following his 46-yard miss.

At the very least, the misses are bad optics, considering the discussion so far around York has been how he and new special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone are working to make sure the LSU product and self-described perfectionist isn’t overly focused on his mechanics, something that was believed to play a factor in a majority of his 10 misses last season.

At the worst? York has a consistency problem that he and the Browns aren’t close to solving.

Of York’s 10 misses last year, five were from manageable distances between 30 and 49 yards (9 of 12 from 30-39 yards; 6 of 8 from 40-49 yards).

The full breakdown from 2022:

York wasn’t in the best mindset last season as the misses piled up. At the time, he admitted to cleveland.com that the misses were testing everything about his process.

But heading into this season, it seemed like things were on the up and up. As the season concluded, York seemed to get some of his swagger back. He realized he was thinking too much and not going into “game mode,” the phrase he used to describe worrying too much about technique instead of trusting himself and his muscle memory on key kicks.

It was certainly plausible that he had solved the problem as he was perfect kicking in Cleveland’s final three games last year.

He detailed to cleveland.com in the spring a different plan heading into his second season, one that is supposed to involve phasing out his mechanics as the regular season gets closer.

Now, with two of these misses in the preseason, it’s fair to wonder if that plan is still going to be feasible.

In recent weeks and months, Kevin Stefanski and Bubba Ventrone have expressed confidence in York. It’s easy to believe considering that, once again, the team did not feel a need to bring in any offseason competition to battle with York for the starting job.

But now, with two misses already in the preseason from distances that should be easy money for the LSU product, it’s fair to wonder what’s next and if that support will still be there.

As the misses pile up, so does the uncertainty.

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